China oil paintings

China oil paintings

Europeans spent their way into a new era Tuesday after the midnight launch of notes and coins of the euro currency that will be shared by 300 million people and is hoped will cement peace and prosperity on the continent.
A project with its roots in the rubble of World War Two, the 12 euro zone countries began swapping currencies like the Italian lire, the French franc and the German mark for what will be the most widely used common money since the Roman Empire.Europeans queued at cash machines to get their hands on their first crisp new euro notes as fireworks across the currency area, stretching from the Arctic Circle to the Greek islands, heralded what leaders called an historic day. In a huge logistical exercise, enough new bank notes to stretch to the moon and back two and a half times, if put end to end, will be distributed across the euro zone. Tons of old national bank notes will be shredded and coinage melted down.